Running Wild is one band from a wave of German Heavy metal bands to emerge in the early/mid 1980s (along with Helloween, Rage, Blind Guardian, Grave Digger, etc). The music they play is a mixture of heavy and speed metal. The band has carved its niche in the metal world as the first "pirate metal" band, a theme which took off with the release of Under Jolly Roger in 1987. The band played their farewell show at the Wacken Open Air 2009, for which setlist fans voted for.